desperate for some personal organisation / day planning / anti procrastination tips. please share!

[melonsandstuff]

I am at my wits end. I find it so difficult to organise myself, even small day to day tasks feel extremely difficult.

I have quite severe clinical depression (medicated, and in therapy for it), but I have been like this for a long time. I find the process of organising my day and completing tasks, however loose the planning and however few the tasks, to be an utterly overwhelming thing.

Could you please share any tips, tricks, and strategies for personal and / or work organisation? This situation is really hindering my life :(

Thank you!

I could have written this year's ago so I know your struggle. I started using a little notes app on my phone, one with a reminder function and I'd literally give myself 10 minutes or so each evening to plan out the next day, write everything important down, or just do it as a simple to do list, then I'd check it off or make a note that I'd done whatever it was, helped me prioritise things as I was always terrible for doing something that wasn't urgent and completely forgetting about urgent things. Same with if you remember something you need to do, write it down immediately so you don't forget.
It worked for me and I now consider myself pretty well organised, if it doesn't work for you, try something else until you figure out what works best for you

Thanks for your reply! I already do something similar to this but it doesn't seem to be working to help me get tasks over the line and completed, and certainly not in a timely fashion if they ever are completed.

I just don't know why I am like this or what the solution is!

Have you considered that you might have ADHD? Look up the symptoms in women and see if they sound familiar x

Check out Dr David Maloney on procrastination on YouTube - he’s nice and gentle to listen to and will hopefully help you understand more about the emotional roots of procrastination.

I’ve found it’s helpful to notice what I’m feeling or what I’m avoiding feeling by getting a task done. For example this afternoon I’ve been finding it difficult to concentrate on writing my appraisal at work - fear of failure or fear of success perhaps! - fear either way. If I don’t do the task, I don’t have to feel the fear. So reassuring myself that it’s okay to feel the fear (and that I’ll have less to fear if I write the bloody thing!) helps me through.

I use lists - in really obvious places. A whiteboard really helps me. And I split jobs down into manageable bits. So never 'clean the house', or even 'clean the sitting room'. Bite-sized chunks such as clear the surfaces, then have a break. Then put away stuff, and have a break, then clean surfaces etc. Having a set routine helps at home, it's not possible for me at work. At work I try to set aside time to do specific tasks and put it in my diary. Everything I can tick off my list is a bonus and makes me feel better. Looking at all the ticks shows me that I have achieved something.

If I plan to do a task I don't like doing, I won't do it. For example if I plan to clean the toilet, it won't happen! Instead I just do it when I am in the toilet, there and then. Same with everything. I don't plan to hoover, I'll just think of it and grab the hoover there and then and do it.

I split the tasks as well, as per the old saying 'How do you eat an elephant'?

'One slice at a time'

Yes I have considered that, and I think I might have ADHD to be honest. But until I can be assessed, and thats if I am assessed, I don't have any mechanisms in place to get me through the day!

Thank you for this! I am going to watch Dr David Maloney's videos.

I have tried this and it didn't really work sadly.

Thank you though.

I'm awaiting adhd assessment- 3 years so far - but I've had some success with a 'just a bit' method. So instead of planning and listing and ignoring tasks (lists and plans are additional procrastination methods for me), I trick myself by thinking I'll just do a bit of the washing up or just a bit of the laundry. So it's not a 'task' it's just a bit. Sometimes that's all that gets done, but most of the time once I've started the majority of the task gets done. I'm infamous for not doing anything 100%. There will be one cup left dirty or a pile of socks left on the bed. But 10% or 99% is better than nothing.

Yes this does actually work for me and I already use this method, to an extent.

Thanks for the tip!

Something that has helped me recently is to think of something that I really want to do but instead of doing it first I tell myself I’m not allowed to do enjoyable task until I’ve finished The Task I Dislike.

I do it at work and in the house and it’s made quite a difference.

I have a little saying: 'Put it in the past' and by this I mean - if you're dreading some task or chore - dive in and get on with it - almost before you realise you've actually started it. I used to go swimming a few times a week and hated it, so I'd have my bag ready and before I could start any 'shall I/shan't I? thoughts in my head I'd be in the car and nearly there. Instead of wasting time and energy thinking of reasons why you're not going to do something...just do it!! It sounds bonkers written down, but basically, try to trick yourself so that you find you've already started something before you consciously planned to.

I've found that some tasks we thing are going to be horrendous often turn out to be easier than we thought - we just need to start them and work through. Conversely, some things we expect to be a doddle turn out to be more difficult!

If I've got a lot of time-consuming, rather boring cooking to do (say, batch-cooking for the freezer) I lay everything out really early - and go and get on with other things. Then, when I know I've got to get started, all the utensils, chopping boards, pans etc are there and I've usually washed any veg etc etc so I can just crack on.

I find most of the time, it's not the job that I dread - it's all the stuff you have to do first, so I try to do that earlier, as described above.

So many wise sayings that really are true help me, OP - such as 'the first step is the hard bit' - once you've done that, you're more than half-way there.

Good luck - basically, just get stuck in and don't waste too much time thinking about things.

Keep it as simple as possible - each day, pick the top three things that you need to get done. Prioritise them in order. Start with number 1 and stick with that until it's finished, then move down the list.

Even if you don't get all three items done, you'll have at least started on the most important one and that's a win.

Yes @melonsandstuff I'm not yet diagnosed either but am as certain as I can be that I have it. I found that once I realised, it was easier to search online for tips and tricks that are actually geared towards people like us (rather than 'make a to do list' as if we've never tried that 😂)

My tips:
Breaking things down into smaller chunks, whether by task or into 5/10 minute blocks
Take a good fish oil for your brain function. Lamberts omega 3,6,9 is good. I honestly notice a difference when I stop taking it.
Everything must have a home. Tidying is so much less overwhelming when you know exactly where things live.
Motivation - just do something, anything, doesn't matter what. In my opinion, we're not unmotivated so much as unable to prioritise. So don't. Just pick a thing and do it, you might find you keep going.
Routines are important. If you do the same things at the same times of the day, you're less likely to forget. I like to 'anchor' things to each other. For example, I always take my vitamins (something I forget) after I eat my dinner (something I never forget). They become one task in a way. You can do this with lots of things.

I can't think of anything else right now but good luck xx